I found this book slow to get started, but once it did, wow! A moving story, very powerful. Should be read by everyone who loves books and language. The conceit of having Death as a narrator was brilliantly original. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Multiple themes are seen in "The Book Thief" but the main theme that stands out is that "words are life." If it was not for the books that had not been for the books Liesel obtained, the entire relationship between her and others would have changed.